The Dress That Makes Packing Light Feel Possible

Fashion

Jun 9

The case for packing light…

There comes a point every summer when all I want to wear are dresses... one and done when it's hot outside is my kind of dressing. I don't want to wear anything fussy or complicated. But... easy doesn't have to mean boring, and that's where this dress from Spartina 449 comes in.

I will say that a pineapple-and-palm-tree print... can go wrong, very fast (think Hawaiian shirt). Tropical prints can feel like a souvenir, but this one doesn't. The gorgeous color makes it feel sophisticated... those soft, sun-faded oranges against cream read more vintage Palm Beach than beach-town gift shop. There's an artsy vibe going on and it's working!

The dress is cotton, so it washes and wears like a dream. Styled with platform sandals and a little raffia bag for dinner out, flats for the Farmer's Market, a swimsuit underneath for lunch at the pool... it's so easy and always gorgeous. My platforms are older from Marc Fisher (these are very similar) and I'm carrying the most darling little bag that you've seen before from Marlie's Grace (also love this one).

And now let's talk about the elephant in the room when it comes to vacation... packing! I have to be honest, I'm a terrible packer... especially when we drive to the beach. The car gives me permission to throw in everything, because why not, it all fits. Then I get home, unpack a suitcase full of things I never touched and put them away. Every single time!

I overpack because I worry that some occasion will come up and I won't have the right thing. But here's the truth I keep having to relearn... I always wear the same few pieces. I wear the ones I love, the ones that feel like me, the ones that are easy and the rest just rides along for the trip and comes home untouched. And... I always do a little shopping, so I bring home even more than I took and let's not even count the things I already have in the closet at the beach house!

So I'm trying. A dress like this is exactly the kind of thing that makes packing light feel possible, because it does so much on its own. All I need to add is a raffia bag and the right earrings... and I've covered a whole day of the trip with just one piece. That's a few less backups I have to talk myself out of bringing.

I'm not all the way there yet, but I'm getting closer. Turns out too many options don't make a trip easier... they just make more to carry home!